Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Should Christians Run for Elected Office and Supporting Jeff Crank
Yes, the title of this post is intentionally inflammatory. But, so is politics.
Okay, clearly I am a Christian and very politically involved. So why would I even ask that question? Because, as Hugh Hewitt pointed out (http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/g/69935afe-2403-4283-88aa-346e069a047c)
“Politics aint beanbag”
Given that reality, can a Christian run a campaign and serve as an elected official in a way that is in alignment with what it means to be a Christian. Of course one can…just as one can run a company as Christian (let us finally put aside the notion of “private faith” which was a hideous invention of the modern age that destroys faith and public life). However, it means that “winning” may not happen, at least as quickly and as absolutely as if the individual (or individuals) operate in the “ways of the world.”
Example number one of the non-Christian Christian politician would be Tom Delay. Look, as an admirer of politics and powerful use of the office to build a party and pass legislation, Delay deserves to be cheered as one of the greats of the past 100 years. However, advertising yourself as a Christian and then operating in ways that, lets be honest, were far from the ways of Christ, or for that matter, even William Wilberforce (example 1 of the great Christian politicians who were willing to do things the right way and understood things may take a while to change). To his credit, Joel Hefley, with whom I disagreed on term limits, was a Christian politician who stuck in on the line in carrying out ethics charges on Delay, despite the pounding he took from his own party.
So why this a necessary posting? Because Doug Lamborn, whose political positions I support and who has done a great job for our city, has allowed campaigning to be done in his name in ways that are clearly outside the boundaries of Christian practices. It is of course appropriate to make your candidates record public, and state how it differs from your own. But turning your opponents records on its head, and allowing a group with the name “Christian” in it (The Christian Coalition of Colorado) to go “negative” on your behalf is, in my humble opinion, incongruent with our faith (see the Hugh Hewitt posts on this topic)
So, for the first time in a long time, since I was in my late 20’s and going through my small liberal period, have to ask whether or not it is appropriate for Christian to serve in elected office. I trust the answer is yes, they should be. But, right now, I have my doubts.
That said, please vote on August 8th for Jeff Crank, the best of a great field of candidates.
The Roving Theologian.
